The first step in Creative Growth has been to perform a baseline mapping of the creative sector in our partner regions. There is a need for statistical data and an evidence base in order to show the potential impact of the sector on the knowledge economy. Seven regional studies have now been performed, and a joint analysis shows that the creative sector makes up an important part of the economy in all of the regions.
Quantitative and qualitative data are now available through the regional mappings and the joint analysis, and our knowledge about the sector has increased. However, these reports point out a number of questions and areas which need to be further investigated and analysed in order to better understand the specific needs for business development in the creative sector.

Benchmarking on regional business support structures and policies is the next step in Creative Growth.

In the benchmarking phase, four thematic working groups (TWGs) will explore the themes Access to finance, Business networks, Incubators, and Education, Research and Industry. The members of the TWGs are people dealing with these issues on a daily basis sharing their knowledge and experience and identifying good and best practice. Each TWG will sum up their findings in a report with recommendations and best practice examples.

The TWGs held their first meetings in Brussels in December 2009. The second and third meetings in Asturias and South Denmark in March and June 2010.

TWG ACCESS TO FINANCElooks at the creative sector's financing needs in connection with start-ups, growth and consolidation. The TWG will not only exchange information and experiences on funding lines for the creative sector known in the partner regions, but also identify how the systems work, including the interaction between the stakeholders involved in a financing process. The group takes as a point of departure that the creative sector has specific needs for financing offers, business advice and consultancy, because creative entrepreneurs and companies have a different mindset; they think differently: focusing more on creativity than on business. Traditional ways of approaching business development and financing are in general not attractive for companies in the creative sectors. TWG Access to Finance will gather and exchange knowledge and cases on the theme via an online questionnaire and via an in-depth study of two chosen cases.

TWG EDUCATION, RESEARCH & INDUSTRY explores and defines education, research & industry relations and how such relations operate as well as investigate local-regional policies that create positive frameworks for the development of science & industry relations. The group takes as a point of departure that creative industries are intensive knowledge and technology users and producers which may highly benefit from interactions with research and education. The group operates with three main categories of actors involved in science and industry relations: creative companies; intermediaries and policy makers (e.g. business and industry associations; innovation agencies; public authorities – regions, provinces, local agencies, etc.) as well as research and universities. The TWG will gather and exchange knowledge and cases on the theme via the development of profile descriptions for each of the partner regions as well as the identification of cases on the transfer of research knowledge and technology to creative industries; the transfer of creative competencies to other industries; and the transfer of skills and competences to creative industries.

TWG BUSINESS NETWORKS explores and exchanges methods, experience and knowledge in the development of formal and informal networks within the creative industries. The group takes as a point of departure that knowledge and information exchange in the sector often happens through informal or private networks or at specific well-known and targeted events. Such business networks can take many forms, whether formal or informal, web-based or in a physical space, staffed professionally or run in somebody’s spare time. The TWG has set out to explore what a ‘perfect’ network looks like. A constructed diagram of a ‘perfect’ network and its main attributes forms the basis for further investigation in the group.

TWG INCUBATOR explores how incubators can be one way of providing business support to the creative sector. The group will identify existing incubators in both partner countries and regions in other parts of the world, including identifying good and best practice examples of how such incubators functions; their activities and methods. Further, the group will gather an overview of national, regional and local legislation for incubators as one part of broader business policies. TWG Incubator will gather knowledge and cases via an online questionnaire and in addition to contributions from business support actors, companies from the creative industries will be invited to share their experiences with incubator environments in order to ensure that perspectives both from the view of incubator providers as well as the users are being explored within the TWG.